“What do Nîmes and Cahors have in common? asks Philippe, a user from 20 minutes who finds, although his name is “nice”, Occitania ” too big “. He would not be unhappy to see it shrink and joins in this a hypothesis that Emmanuel Macron would study according to an indiscretion of The Midi Dispatch. According to the sources of the regional daily, the Head of State is preparing an institutional reform and plans to merge the departmental and regional advisers to make them territorial advisers, like those who sit in Corsica. But who could, in the case of too large regions such as the Grand-Est, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, New Aquitaine and therefore Occitanie, equivalent to Ireland and twice as large as Belgium, find themselves very distant from the users-voters. Hence the idea of returning to the division decided by François Hollande and which gave birth in 2016 to Occitanie, by the merger of Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon.
“Different mentalities and customs”
As much to say it right away, the perspective divides our readers. The return to the old “borders” is particularly appealing for cultural reasons. “Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc are two different geographical areas, with different mentalities and customs (…) even in cooking and oenology”, pleads in particular Marion, 40, who does not really see the relationship between “cassoulet and pork à la Cévennes” or between the wines of Fronton and Gaillac and a Rivesaltes. “Nothing to do between the Rhone Gard and Toulouse”, adds Jean-Jacques.
The constraint of geographical distance also counts for those nostalgic for the previous division. Mahé lives in the Cévennes. He notices that it takes 4 hours by car, and sometimes more by public transport, to reach Toulouse, its regional capital, when Montpellier is 2 hours away by transport and 1 hour by car. “With the current policy of wanting to reduce our carbon footprint, it’s too incomprehensible,” he said, advocating a return “to local actions”.
On the side of Catalonia, the affront remains alive even after seven years of “cohabitation”. “I live in Perpignan. I am not Catalan by culture or birth. However, I do not recognize myself in the “Occitanie” region, the name of which was imposed on us by the largest population, “says a fifty-year-old. “Give Nantes back to the Bretons and the Catalans to Roussillon”, joins Fred.
Holidays with the Parisians and basketball games
More original, more complex too, Internet users defend a redistricting in harmony with the history of the Southwest which would not necessarily be a step back. Thus Philippe (another) would see Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne turn towards Bordeaux when Landes and Gers reform Gascony.
Finally, among the proponents of two regions, there are those who point out the disadvantages that the merger has had on their daily lives. Since Toulouse joined Montpellier in zone C of the school holidays, Thierry has been very upset to “find himself in the same zone as the Parisians”. “The crowds are higher and the prices for stays higher,” he laments. And if Emeline is “150%” for a “redivision”, it is because this Muretaine thinks of “small sports clubs”, basketball for example, which shine at the regional level and which find themselves doing “several times a quarter” of distant travel, as expensive as it is destabilizing “for family life”.
“Occitan and proud of it”
Now let’s move on to the convinced supporters of Occitania, one and whole. “Personally, I have always felt more Occitan than Midi-Pyrenean”, assures Stéphane who has not noticed any notable difference with the previous functioning. “The identity of the new region is strong now,” observes Stéphanie. The inhabitants voted for the name of the new large region and this strong sense of belonging, with a broader horizon”. “Hands off our great and beautiful Occitania! I feel more Occitan than ever,” rejoices Séverine. As for Jean-Luc, he says to himself “Occitan and proud of it”. Just like Alain who does not see the interest “to undo a historical country, an entity which has found its marks and its language”. Even if it means changing something, Jean-Luc would eliminate the departments. Fred, in his thirties, finds the current division “very good” and wants to improve it further by “optimizing administrative services and intra-regional transport”.
Attachment to Occitania is sometimes sentimental but often pragmatic. The main argument of the refractory to a redistricting is in particular financial. Many wonder how much the merger cost and how much it would cost to “unravel” it so soon after. “We had to think about it before. No question of spending years redoing everything, ”says Adrien who nevertheless finds the redistricting “absurd”. He also fears a political desire “to break up one of the last regions a little to the left”.